Casa Loma

Casa Loma - the most important information

Casa Loma (Spanish for "Hill House") is a Gothic Revival style mansion and garden in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a historic house museum and landmark. It was constructed from 1911 to 1914 as a residence for financier Sir Henry Pellatt. The architect was E. J. Lennox, who designed several other city landmarks. Casa Loma sits at an elevation of 140 meters above sea level, 66 meters above Lake Ontario. This location is also a popular venue for wedding ceremonies, and Casa Loma can be rented in the evenings after the museum closes to the public.

History of Casa Loma

In 1903, financier Henry Pellatt purchased 25 lots from developers Kertland and Rolf. Pellatt commissioned architect E. J. Lennox design Casa Loma, with construction beginning in 1911, starting with the massive stables, potting shed, and Hunting Lodge (a.k.a. coach-house) a few hundred feet north of the main building. The house cost about $3.5 million and took 299 workers three years to build. Due to the start of World War I, construction was halted. At 98 rooms covering 6,011 m2, it was the largest private residence in Canada. Most of the third floor was left unfinished, and today serves as the Regimental Museum for The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. In the late 1920s, investors operated Casa Loma for a short time as a luxury hotel. During Prohibition, it became a popular nightspot for wealthy Americans. Meanwhile, from 1997 until 2012, the castle underwent a 15-year, $33-million exterior restoration largely funded by the city, which also created a new board of trustees in 2008. So during years this house was upgraded several times and repaired even more.

What to see in Casa Loma?

Here you can see everything you could expect. Starting with that, Casa Loma has five acres of gardens. A tunnel connects Casa Loma to the Hunting Lodge and to the stables (garage, potting shed, stalls, carriage room, and tack rooms). That being said here are some suggestions on what to pay attention to:

The Oak Room (originally called the Napoleon Drawing Room) is the most decorated room in the house and was used for formal occasions. It is encased in wood panels in the style of Grinling Gibbons, which took three artisans three years to carve.
Other rooms in Casa Loma include The Conservatory, a room that showcases plant life. The Conservatory also includes a fountain at one end of the room.
The Round Room is designed to fit beneath the castle's tower; this room is notable for its doors and windows, which curve to follow the shape of the room.
The Girl Guide Exhibit was opened on the second floor of Casa Loma in 1973. The relationship between the Girl Guides and Casa Loma extends back to Lady Pellatt, who frequently invited the Girl Guides to her home. Their first visit was in 1913, when 250 girls and their leaders toured the conservatories and stables, climbed the circular staircase to the top turret, and then were served tea in the Palm Room. In March 1914, Lady Pellatt watched the Guides' annual fête from her bedroom window as she was too ill to leave her room. Rallies became an annual event at the house. As of 2014, the garage and carriage room features an exhibition of vintage cars from the early 1900s.

Casa Loma opening hours, tickets, and when to visit?

Opening hours: Casa Loma is open daily from 9.30 am to 5 pm. Some days it may be closed due to holidays or private events.
Ticket prices: May be different depending on the exhibitions and days you are visiting, but they usually start at 20 USD and can go up to 80 USD. Casa Loma has plenty of events and things to visit and discover, so it would be best to for current hours of operation and tickets for all of the events, refer to Casa Loma's website.

Casa Loma is worth visiting at any time during the year, although visitors tend to have different opinions about which season offers the best experience. Keep in mind that, like a castle, there isn’t central heat or air conditioning, so dress for the weather. For this reason, many think that Casa Loma’s charms are most apparent in the spring and fall when temperatures are mild.

How to get to Casa Loma?

Castle Loma is located at 1 Austin Terrace, Toronto, Ontario M5R 1X8, at the corner of Spadina Road and Davenport Road. There are four ways to get to Casa Loma by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC):

Get off at Dupont station, which is two stops north of St. George station on the Spadina-University line. When you exit the station, walk two blocks north on Spadina Ave. To get to Casa Loma you can climb the Baldwin Steps at Spadina Ave. and Davenport Road: there are 110 steps. You can also walk up the hill on the west side of the castle, though this is a rather steep climb which can be difficult on hot days.
Take the Davenport 127 bus from Spadina Station to Davenport & Spadina. You can get off the bus here and climb the Baldwin steps or stay on the bus for one more stop to Davenport and Walmer and walk up the hill on the west side of the castle.
Get off at St. Clair West station on the Spadina-University line. When you exit the station, walk east on St. Clair to Spadina, and turn right (south). Casa Loma is about a 15-minute walk along Spadina Ave.
Get off at St. Clair West station on the Yonge line. You can take a 5-minute ride on the St. Clair streetcar going west to Spadina Road. Due to construction, this service is temporarily provided by a bus instead. Walk approximately 10 minutes south on Spadina Road to Casa Loma.

Casa Loma trivia

It took 300 men three years to build Casa Loma between 1911 and 1914.
During WWII, the Casa Loma stables concealed a secret sonar research and construction facility.
The mansion is now a museum but also serves other purposes like wedding ceremonies.
Even though he spent quite a bit of money on the property, Pellat only got to enjoy it for about a decade between its completion in 1913 and the year he left in 1923.
The first time that Casa Loma was opened to the public was in the year 1937. It was operated by the Kiwanis Club of West Toronto from then on, a branch that was renamed Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma.
Casa Loma is a popular location for use in film and television. It has served as a location for movies such as X-Men, Strange Brew, Chicago, The Tuxedo, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Warehouse 13, Crimson Peak, Descendants, Twitches, Twitches Too, The Pacifier, and Titans where it stands in for Wayne Manor. Comic books and children's novels that have used it include the Scott Pilgrim series and Eric Wilson's murder mystery The Lost Treasure of Casa Loma. It was also temporarily transformed into Hogwarts for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.